Tago: In singles, rallies tend to be longer because you are trying to force your opponent to make errors. A shuttlecock’s potential wobbling doesn’t affect this as much as the doubles game.Ogura: In doubles, there are more attacks than in singles. So a shuttlecock’s wobble can have a large affected because, when an attack comes, I need to react quickly to hit the shuttlecock. If the shuttlecock is wobbling, when I hit a lob, it is sometimes difficult to time the shot properly.- How do you need to adjust your play to the make to the shuttlecock?Tago: I use the YONEX shuttlecocks for practice to make sure I am prepared for the tournament. If you do not use YONEX shuttles you will need to adapt your style of play, this is a major factor and can be decisive.Ogura: We don’t know which shuttlecocks will be used in any given tournament. It is even an unknown factor at the junior high and high school tournaments.
That’s why it’s important for us to have a solid grounding in practice with a top quality shuttle like YONEX. This establishes a technique that protects you against the uncertainty of shuttle choice when it comes to the big day.

Tago: Yes, of course. I insist on YONEX because their shuttlecocks have durability and stability in the flight trajectory.Ogura: Durability especially is very important for high school students. There are some shuttlecocks used for practice which wobble very soon. However, the YONEX shuttlecocks have strong, reliable feather shafts. They last two or three times as long as other brands’ of shuttlecocks. If you change a shuttlecock frequently, you cannot concentrate on practice. In addition, our club budget is limited for junior high and high-school students so we can’t use a lot of shuttlecocks. So it’s very important that the shuttlecocks have durability.- How about the consistent performance of the shuttlecocks?Tago: A good and consistent shuttlecock performance would mean that the flight distance is stable, that it the shuttle goes neither too far, nor too short. In other words, the shuttlecock flies towards your target. Also, a great aspect of YONEX is that their shuttlecocks maintain the same performance in all conditions, despite the fluctuations in heat and humidity etc.